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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26233549">Nightmare</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/infernalstars/pseuds/infernalstars'>infernalstars</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Neil Loves Dinosaurs [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>All For The Game - Nora Sakavic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Autistic Neil Josten, Happy Andrew Minyard, M/M, Neil Josten &amp; Andrew Minyard Adopt, Nightmares, Original Character POV, Protective Andrew Minyard, andrew is a good dad, neil josten loves dinos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:35:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,149</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26233549</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/infernalstars/pseuds/infernalstars</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Andrew bonds with his foster kid.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Neil Loves Dinosaurs [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1872259</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>209</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Nightmare</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello! </p>
<p>!!!! big fat trigger warning for abuse, death, explicit descriptions of murder !!!!</p>
<p>anyway i adore this chapter and henry and andrew being a dad :)</p>
<p>next chapter will come back to neil more buuuut enjoy</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Henry will never not have nightmares.</p>
<p>This is something he has long since accepted. His birth mother hurt him and he’s never had the ability to be truly free of abuse. He’s gone from foster home to foster home facing emotional abuse and physical abuse.</p>
<p>Nightmares were inevitable.</p>
<p>Something he had not considered? Being comfortable in his new home to the point where he let himself fall into a deep enough sleep where he could dream. A dream that had him waking with a scream.</p>
<p>He sat up straight, drenched in sweat.</p>
<p>Henry tried to get as much air into his lungs as he possibly could, letting out a strangled sob as he exhaled. His whole body shuddered.</p>
<p>Something inside of him broke, shattered. He brought his knees up as the tears fell.</p>
<p>
  <em> The blood was everywhere. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Everywhere. </em> 
</p>
<p>There was a soft knock at his door. His head snapped up. He sniffled, trying to wipe away his tears.</p>
<p>“Hello?”</p>
<p>
  <em> It was on his mom's hands, on her face and her white sweater. </em> 
</p>
<p>“Can I come in, Henry?” Andrew’s voice asked on the other side of the door.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Henry said.</p>
<p>Andrew opened up the door. “Are you okay?”</p>
<p>Henry shook his head. “No.”</p>
<p>
  <em>  She laughed. She was laughing hysterically, the knife still in her hands. </em> 
</p>
<p>“Do you want to talk or do you want to be left alone?” Andrew asked.</p>
<p>
  <em> She saw him standing in the corner, crying. Her laughter died and a twisted smile formed on her face. </em> 
</p>
<p>
  <em>  She pointed the knife at him. </em> 
</p>
<p>“Talk.”</p>
<p>Andrew actually looked surprised at this. Henry had only told them so much about his past. The bare details about his previous homes, but not his birth mom.</p>
<p>He’d scared them one other time when he’d fallen asleep in the living room unintentionally and woken with a start. He refused to talk and just shut himself in his room.</p>
<p>“Okay. Can I sit?”</p>
<p>Henry nodded and moved over on his bed so Andrew could sit next to him. He pat the spot. Andrew asked again, pointing to the bed before sitting next to Henry.</p>
<p>“Your bed is so much more comfortable than ours,” Andrew hummed, getting comfortable.</p>
<p>Henry smiled a bit. He liked Andrew. He never pushed him more than what he was comfortable with.</p>
<p>
  <em> She threw the knife at the wall above his head with a scream. His baby sister still wasn’t moving, but he couldn’t leave her. </em> 
</p>
<p>
  <em>  He couldn’t leave her.</em>
</p>
<p>Henry looked at his hands. They were shaking.</p>
<p>“When I was seven, my mom killed my sister,” Henry said quietly.</p>
<p>Andrew turned to look at him. He said nothing.</p>
<p>“I saw it all. I tried to stop her,” he said, showing Andrew the scar on his palm.</p>
<p>
  <em> The blood was on him too. It was his blood. He was bleeding, crying. It hurt so bad.</em>
</p>
<p>He knew his foster dads were no stranger to scars. Neil had a few on his face and Andrew’s arms were littered in them (Andrew never told him the whole story, Henry had just come into their room one night when he didn’t have on his arm bands).</p>
<p>“She...she needed help.”</p>
<p>“Needed?” Andrew asked, not missing his word choice.</p>
<p>“She’s dead. Three years ago in a prison fight,” Henry said quietly.</p>
<p>“She’s in your nightmares?” Andrew guessed.</p>
<p>Henry nodded. “I see it all over again. I can still...hear the sound of Lizzy crying and...the moment she died and the crying cut out. It was so quiet.”</p>
<p>Andrew was quiet next to him too. It was a different type of quiet. It was comforting.</p>
<p>“I never let myself sleep enough to dream because of it.”</p>
<p>“Do you want to talk to someone about it?” Andrew asked.</p>
<p>“Maybe? Can I decide tomorrow?”</p>
<p>“You can decide in a few weeks, a month, however long you need, okay?” Andrew assured him.</p>
<p>
  <em> The world was so quiet.  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Except for the sirens. Someone was coming to save him. Someone was coming. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>  He was going to be saved. </em>
</p>
<p>Henry nodded. “Can...Can you stay here tonight?”</p>
<p>Andrew nodded.</p>
<p>“Can I…?” Henry gestured to his shoulder.</p>
<p>“Go for it,” Andrew said, leaning his head back. “Get some rest.”</p>
<p>Henry leaned his head against his shoulder. “Goodnight,” he mumbled.</p>
<p>
  <em> He’d never sleep again. He couldn’t close his eyes without seeing red. </em>
</p>
<p>Henry slept. He did not have a nightmare for the first time in seven years.</p>
<p>
-
</p>
<p>Neil woke up early to feed the cats.</p>
<p>He walked past Henry’s room. He had assumed Andrew had an early practice he forgot about.</p>
<p>No. He was sitting up in Henry’s bed fast asleep with Henry against his shoulder.</p>
<p>He had never seen either of them at peace. Not like this.</p>
<p>His hands flapped as he ignored the cats at his feet. He had a family.</p>
<p>He had a fucking family.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Henry sat down at the table one evening a few weeks later.</p>
<p>Neil had his headphones in and eyes closed. He’d gotten overwhelmed by a TV commercial. He rocked back and forth, soothing himself.</p>
<p>Now wasn’t a great time to bother Andrew with this, he knew that. But he was scared of losing his nerve.</p>
<p>“I think I want to talk to someone about my nightmares,” he admitted to Andrew.</p>
<p>Andrew, who has been watching Neil, turned to look at him. “Okay. I have a therapist, Bee, she’s really great. We can start there and if you don’t like her, she’ll know someone else to help.”</p>
<p>Henry nodded, feeling like a weight had been lifted off his chest.</p>
<p>“Do you...Is he okay?” Henry asked, nodding to Neils</p>
<p>“Yeah. He’ll be fine,” Andrew said. “He’s just calming himself down. I know it might seem weird but he’s fine.”</p>
<p>Henry shook his head. “I don’t think it’s weird. I just...I don’t understand.”</p>
<p>“Do you want to?”</p>
<p>“Yeah.”</p>
<p>“So, Neil’s autistic,” Andrew said. “You know that. Basically he just processes the world a little different. He has some sensory issues. Loud and sudden noises, certain materials, certain textures, and so on can upset him. The commercial on TV just startled him. So to calm down he usually listens to music, he might pace around. That’s why he liked the dinosaur stuffed animal—it’s soothing. Similar things happen when he’s excited. He starts bouncing around, his hands flap a bit.”</p>
<p>“So he’s just soothing himself?”</p>
<p>Andrew nodded. “Sometimes the world is a bit too overwhelming either way for him.”</p>
<p>Henry nodded, looking over to Neil as he opened his eyes. He tugged lighting on his sleeve.</p>
<p>His hands moved as he sighed Andrew something.</p>
<p>Andrew nodded, getting up slowly. He left for their room and re-emerged with the dinosaur stuffed animal.</p>
<p>“Do you ever feel like you’re taking care of him…?” Henry asked.</p>
<p>“Absolutely not,” Andrew said, getting defensive.. He shook his head. “He’s capable of taking care of himself. He’s been alone for a long time. He’s more than capable.”</p>
<p>Henry saw the way Neil looked at Andrew. He wondered if anyone would ever look at him with so much love and pride. He didn’t think there was enough room for that in the world.</p>
<p>Only Neil and Andrew could exist with so much intensity.</p>
<p>Henry was lucky enough to witness it.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Henry sat in the front seat of the car. The leather was cold against him but it felt good.</p>
<p>Andrew had off today.</p>
<p>He sat in the driver's seat, sunglasses covering his eyes. Henry wondered how Neil could read him so easily. Neil had a hard time reading Henry who was certainly more expressive than this.</p>
<p>Henry pulled out his phone. It was a Thursday afternoon. His friends were asking where he was.</p>
<p>It felt good to be cared for. To have people care for you.</p>
<p>Despite this, he didn’t respond to a single message. He was too tired. He stuffed his phone in his hoodie pocket.</p>
<p>“How long have you been seeing Bee,” Henry asked, staring out the window.</p>
<p>“College. She’s like family,” he explained.</p>
<p>“Why doesn’t Neil see a therapist,” Henry asked.</p>
<p>“Doesn’t trust them. Doesn’t trust most people around his dad's age,” Andrew said, turning left without a turn signal. “Mostly men, but it's hard for him either way.”</p>
<p>When Henry arrived, one of his first questions had been about Neil’s scars. This resulted in a few things. Neil explained what had happened, but got too overwhelmed and switched to sign language. This also led to the explanation that he was autistic.</p>
<p>He knew all about Neil’s dad. He hated what he’d been through.</p>
<p>Was even more fond of Neil because he had the courage to be a parent despite how shitty his own parents were.</p>
<p>“But you do trust people?” Henry asked.</p>
<p>Andrew looked over at him for a split second. Held his eye as long as he dared. “Only people that earn it.”</p>
<p>“Have I earned it?” Henry asked.</p>
<p>“You’ve done nothing to break it.”</p>
<p>Henry thought he sounded sad. Maybe a bit lonely. He watched Andrew’s grip tighten on the steering wheel.</p>
<p>“Why don’t you trust people?” Henry asked.</p>
<p>While he knew a great deal about Neil’s past, Andrew was still somewhat of a mystery.</p>
<p>“Sometimes the people you think you can trust hurt you, Henry. We’re not here for me today. We’re here for you,” Andrew said, not harsh, but firm.</p>
<p>Henry nodded. Andrew was better, he’d told him that much, but discussing his trauma was not his favorite pastime. Henry was quiet as Andrew parked the car and walked inside with him.</p>
<p>Henry didn’t say anything until Bee spoke to him. She asked why he was here.</p>
<p>“Andrew trusts you,” Henry said, picking at his already ripped jeans. “I’ve been having bad nightmares.”</p>
<p>Bed nodded, sipping on her drink. “Do you want to talk about them?”</p>
<p>He hesitated.</p>
<p>“We can work up to it. Why don’t you tell me about living with Andrew and Neil?” she suggested.</p>
<p>Henry couldn’t help but smile. “It’s good. Really good. They’re good.”</p>
<p>“And school is good?” she asked.</p>
<p>“I mean I’m not great at school, but I have a lot of friends which is...different,” he admitted. He’d never had friends before, not real friends.</p>
<p>“That’s great! Any romantic interests,” she inquired.</p>
<p>He hesitated. “Maybe but don’t tell Andrew or Neil. I’m not comfortable telling them about it yet.”</p>
<p>Bee nodded. “If they ask I’m legally obligated to tell them but I highly doubt that they will.”</p>
<p>Henry nodded.</p>
<p>“Did the nightmares start when you moved in with them?” she asked.</p>
<p>He shook his head no. “I feel safe so I let myself dream…”</p>
<p>She nodded, sitting back. “Do they know what they’re about?”</p>
<p>“Andrew does. I don’t think he told Neil.”</p>
<p>Henry clenched his fist, that scared hand closed in a tight first. He felt...dizzy.</p>
<p>“My mom killed my sister when I was younger. I saw it...I can’t unsee it.”</p>
<p>His voice was barely above a whisper. He felt like he was drowning.</p>
<p>He didn’t let himself think about it when he was fully awake. Not fully. Not down to every single detail.</p>
<p>The diamond earrings his mother wore. Her sapphire eyes that he saw in the mirror everyday. He closed them now, not wanting to see Bee’s face when he told her the rest.</p>
<p>“The day before I heard my mom trying to convince my dad to help kill both me and my sister. He left us there to die. He has a new family now. I found him online. I think he’s happy,” he said. “My mom died a few years ago behind bars. Every time I’m moved to a new home I am farther and farther from my sister's grave. Her name…”</p>
<p>He whimpered. He felt dizzy still, a cool sweat on the back of his neck.</p>
<p>“Henry?”</p>
<p>Henry lurched forward, throwing up on Bee’s baby blue rug.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>“I can pay for the rug,” Henry insisted to Andrew on the ride home.</p>
<p>“I told you, it’s fine,” he said, face neutral.</p>
<p>Henry frowned, but didn’t push. He sat in silence, arms wrapped around himself.</p>
<p>“Andrew?”</p>
<p>He got a grunt in response.</p>
<p>“Are you disappointed in me?”</p>
<p>Andrew slammed on the breaks. Thankfully they were in their quiet neighborhood and no one was behind them.</p>
<p>“Disappointed? No. Why would I be?”</p>
<p>“You seem upset, that’s all. I threw up on Bee’s rug.”</p>
<p>Andrew looked down the road. “I’m bad at… expressing myself. I’m not mad. I’m proud of you actually. Talking about these things is hard.”</p>
<p>Henry felt himself blushing. “Thank you. For everything.”</p>
<p>Andrew did a double take.</p>
<p>“You’re a lot like Neil, you know,” he said, voice gentle. He was smiling. “A lot like him.”</p>
<p>Henry smiled at the thought. Andrew put the car in drive and took them home.</p>
<p>“You don’t have to do this all alone, you know?” he said, turning the car off. “We’ll fight with you. For you.”</p>
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